Elementary, My Dear Saiyaman
by johnny3gud
Summary: A collection of seven element-themed one-shots focusing on the development of Gohan and Videl's relationship. Originally submitted for SweetestIrony's Gohan/Videl Week 3.0
1. Fire

**Author's Note:** This story was originally published in February 2010 as my entry for a theme week for a Gohan/Videl fan group. That week, the participating writers were to submit a short story each day based on the element chosen as that day's theme. A while ago, I was questioning whether or not I still wanted to be a part of the fanfiction community, and I took down all of the content I had ever posted on this site and changed my user name. Since then, my mind has changed, and I decided that I wanted to put some of my old work back up and begin working on some old projects again. These stories, despite being a collection of seven unrelated one-shots, are probably my favorite completed work. I hope you enjoy them as much as I still do.

* * *

><p><span>Elementary, My Dear Saiyaman<span>

I. Fire

She burned with fury. Well, actually, she burned with a lot of different emotions, but fury was the one that consumed her at the moment. Her knuckles were white on the steering handles, despite there being no imminent danger. In fact, she was really about as safe as she could be, with Saiyaman only about a hundred feet away. But the superhero's presence was no solace for her; in fact, it was the cause of her frustration.

Videl clenched her jaw as she watched that super-powered idiot with a trash can on his head fly by her jet copter. He sent her a smile and waved, but Videl did not return the gesture. Everything about him made her want to scream. It seemed that the sole purpose of his existence was to get in her way. He wasn't needed. The city was plenty safe before he ever came around. Sure, there may have been a few petty criminals, but it was nothing she and the police department couldn't handle together.

He had just appeared out of nowhere and launched a personal vendetta against crime in Satan City. None of it made any sense to Videl. How could someone with his strength simply turn up one day? It was like he had crawled out from under a rock somewhere just to mess with her. He was very good at it, too, and that's what bugged her the most. She wasn't ever sure if he was being serious or not.

__I mean, come on___,_ she thought. __He acts like such a goofball! That outrageous costume and those stupid poses… and that faked heroic voice! Ugh! It's so obvious that he's hiding something!__

__It's like he knows me and he's just acting like an ass to agitate me... But if he knows me, who in the world could he be? Who has that sort of power?__

When he first appeared, Videl wondered if Saiyaman's antics were all a bunch of tricks, like her father had said about those weird guys at the Cell Games. But then, she was rescued by him. He caught a tour bus that had driven off a cliff.

_You just can't fake something like that..._

Videl's mind felt wrenched and her face flared red in frustration over her quandary.

The pillar of smoke rising over the downtown marked her destination. She felt a vein rise on her forehead as she watched the red-caped dork avenger swoop down to the ground near the burning building. When she landed, she found him standing by the police chief and a few of his men, a disgustingly smug and confident look on his face.

He raised his hand in a welcoming gesture.

"Greetings, miss! I see we meet again!" he proclaimed.

Videl struggled against the urge to gnash her teeth at him. It was so demeaning, all of it. This was her escape, her one chance to do something serious and meaningful in her daily life. It was her opportunity to get away from all of the frivolous, meaningless things out there; none of the high school drama or nonsense, none of her father's outlandish fame, nothing stupid. Yet here was this moron intent on taking away what was sacred to her, and mocking her with his fake innocence while he did it.

"Can it, you jerk," she spat at him dismissively. She turned on her heels and gave Saiyaman the cold shoulder, giving the police chief her full attention. "So what's the situation, chief?"

"Well, Videl…" he began.

Gohan tried to listen to the briefing from the background, but his attention was directed elsewhere. He felt his face burning uncomfortably underneath the stifling warmth of his helmet.

_So I'm a jerk for being polite, friendly, and trying to help her? It's her safety I'm concerned about! I'm doing this for her own good!_

Sharpner and Erasa had repeatedly tried to reassure Gohan that there was no reason to worry about Videl, claiming that she was almost as strong as her father. Whereas any other person would have been greatly comforted by this news, Gohan was deeply unsettled by it. It made him ten times more concerned about her. He knew that Videl wasn't bulletproof like he was. She was going to get herself killed one day doing this. It was unfathomably dangerous for a normal human to be doing what she did.

Well, "normal" in relative terms.

But still, that wasn't any reassurance for him. He knew that he had the power to protect her. He had the power to protect everybody. He had done it before. Every living thing on earth owed him their life, and yet here he was trying to protect the daughter of the man who stole his credit. It just didn't make any sense, not even to him. His face burned with embarrassment at Videl's verbal attack. His heart burned with a bizarre feeling that he couldn't seem to place.

"And don't you come after me, Saiyaman!" Videl harshly warned him. "I DON'T need your help!"

Gohan was startled out of his thoughtful trance and searched for something to say, but he was left mumbling a surprised sort of noise as Videl raced off to the flaming building.

Videl began to wonder immediately upon entering the building if it had been a good idea to refuse Saiyaman's help. The smoke was thick. Her breathing was labored as she galloped up the stairs to where the office clerks were trapped. She gagged on the smoke twice on the way up. The carbon in the air was absolutely overpowering.

_This is a lot worse than I expected. I should have taken a respirator from one of the firemen._

Sixth floor, north wing, second door on the left - there it was. The door was pinned shut by a fallen steel beam.

_Actually, this might not be so bad. This looks like it will be an easy rescue. All I've got to do is move the beam out of the way of the door and the people inside can just walk right out. This should only take a couple of minutes, tops._

Videl positioned herself at the base of the collapsed beam. It was protruding out from the ceiling all the way down to the floor.

_All I have to do is drag it out of the way. Piece of cake._

She grabbed onto the sides of the I-beam and gave it a sharp tug. She yelped in pain, quickly retracting her hands.

Videl looked at her fingers. They were a tender shade of red. The beam was searing hot from exposure to the flames all around it. It was time to improvise. Videl choked on the thick air as she dashed down the corridor, searching for anything she could use.

_'Custodial Closet'_. With a yell she violently kicked in the door, doubling up in a coughing fit afterward. She fought against her diaphragm and tried to hold her breath as she groped around the inside the dark closet for a light switch. She found nothing of the sort, and instead started scrambling around to lay her hands on anything potentially usable. She found a rolling janitor's cart filled with... whatever that cleaning fluid was. Probably not just water. Seeing no better option, she grabbed the handle on the cart and ran back down the hallway with it in tow.

Now came the moment of truth. Praying the liquid wasn't flammable, she tossed the contents of the cart onto the I-beam. The beam hissed as vapor rose into the air. Videl found herself gagging again. Whatever that liquid was, it definitely wasn't just water. It was absolutely noxious. Understanding that it was definitely in her best interests not to inhale any of the fumes, she took one last precious gasp of air and held her breath.

She grabbed the sides of the beam again. Her plan had worked! Now it was cool enough to touch. She wedged herself between the wall and the beam. She positioned her feet against the base of the wall for extra force and pushed with her back. The beam budged, bit by bit, out of the way.

But it wasn't moving quickly enough. She felt faint. The work was exhausting. She needed air so badly, but the air here was obscured with heavy smoke and goodness knows what else from the janitor's bucket. She didn't have much time.

In desperation, Videl slammed her body into the steel beam. She felt a rib crack under the force. The beam, luckily, moved clear of the door. She barely contained herself as she let out a close-mouthed, stifled shriek of pain.

Videl momentarily wondered if she'd be able to hold on much longer in the situation she was in, with no viable air to breathe and a broken bone.

_I don't know if I can last long enough in here to do this. I could try to run out for air and then get the fire department men to come evacuate these people, but the door is free to be opened now, and there are five people in there depending on me for their lives._

_I can't turn around at a time like this!_

She grabbed a handful of her baggy shirt and wrapped her protected hands around the red-hot doorknob. She turned the handle and threw the door open.

She felt her heart sink and her eyes widen at the sight she beheld now. The ceiling was collapsing all over this section of the building. There was a huge, piled mess of burning debris between the five trapped victims and the doorway. There was no way she could get through it or get them over it.

Just then, her lips parted and she let out a gasp. Her body finally overcame the protest of her willpower and dared to inhale breath. She fell to her hands and knees, gagging and gasping for air, overwhelmed by the smoke.

_Maybe I should have taken Saiyaman's help._

The outlook was grim for her and for these people. She couldn't get out, nor could she get them out. She was in over her head on this one, and she knew it.

Videl thought she heard someone on the other side of the burning debris pile shout something about looking out, but before she could figure out what was going on she felt a tremendous weight impact her lower back, and a few seconds later she felt nothing at all.

Then, there was light. Lots of light. Flashes, cheering. What was going on? She opened her eyes.

There were reporters everywhere. The firemen were victoriously finishing their hosing down of the building. Policemen were patting each other on the back and getting in their cars to leave. Medical personnel scurried about, readying the victims for transport to the hospital. The police chief and city fire marshal were exchanging a handshake and waving to the cameras. And she was…

…in Saiyaman's arms?

Gohan smiled heroically for the cameras as he held Videl in front of the crowd in an assuring gesture that she was going to be okay. A group of doctors rushed a stretcher over to the scene. Reporters fired questions at him like bullets and he said nothing to them, speaking instead when a small man dressed in a blue medical uniform said to him, "We'll take her from here, sir."

Gohan nodded at the man and laid Videl down on the stretcher.

"Of course, gentlemen. You take good care of her. My work here is done. I'll be on my way now."

Gohan turned on the spot and began to walk away, but was quickly stopped in his tracks.

"You stay right where you are!" a voice yelled at him. The throng of people gathered around inhaled a unanimous gasp as Videl sat up on the stretcher, visibly furious.

"I told you I didn't need your help, you stupid jerk!" she said accusingly. She was livid with him. Gohan scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and waved his other hand out in front of him, trying to dissuade her.

And they both felt that familiar fire on their faces.


	2. Earth

II. Earth

With the planet in jeopardy once again, it was no time for him to be thinking like this. He had to get his mind off it all. There was no way he could be the hero he had to be if he didn't stop thinking about it. Every time he had felt it before, that familiar pain had been a source of power. Right now, it hurt more than ever. He knew if he didn't get his mind off it or find a way to use his emotions to his advantage, it would be the end of him. It would be the end of everybody. It would be the end of Earth.

He hovered over the barren, empty landscape. Majin Buu was nowhere to be seen, but yet his presence was everywhere. He had left nothing at all. There wasn't a place on the planet that had been left untouched. Craters littered the landscape. Smoldering ruins of cities lay low on the distant horizon. He had salted the earth with his power. Everything, ever, was gone.

He had to find Dende. The little green alien was the only hope the planet had. He was the key to saving everyone.

And Gohan mourned, because he hadn't been there to save anyone. His memories of the previous hour played over and over again in his head like grains of sand running through an overturned hourglass.

* * *

><p>"What!? I don't believe it! It's Goku!" Piccolo bellowed.<p>

"No, it's my brother you guys! Gohan!" Goten exclaimed, pointing right at him.

"Are you positive?" Trunks asked Goten skeptically.

Gohan soared in over their heads and abruptly landed directly in front of Buu. Even he had to admit to himself that he was amazed by his newly found confidence. He wasn't nervous at all. All the way from the Planet of the Kais, he could sense that he was more powerful than Buu.

So long as he kept his focus, he would certainly win this battle, but a question burned in the back of his mind.

"Hey guys, what's happening?" he said to his friends nonchalantly.

"Hey Gohan!" his younger brother happily exclaimed.

He just had to know the answer to his question. He couldn't go another second without knowing the answer. He had spent most of the past day and a half wondering it silently, and he was tired of waiting on pins and needles for the answer. It was imperative that he found out what had happened here on Earth.

"Where are the others?" Gohan asked gravely.

"He's killed everyone!" Goten replied. "Videl, mom, everyone Gohan!"

Gohan felt a jolt in his heart as though an ice pick had been driven directly into his chest. He felt a momentary pang throughout every joint and fiber of his body, a sudden lapse of weakness. He felt compelled to crumple at his knees and fall to the ground. His heart raced. He felt icily cold everywhere, but yet his flesh was spontaneously very red and hot.

In between the frantic, forceful palpitations of his heart, Gohan strung together a painful train of thought.

_Videl..._

_I wasn't here. I could have saved you. You too, mother... Maybe, I could have saved everyone. If only I had arrived a little sooner._

_What if Old Kai had let me know when my time was up instead of letting me sit around for ten minutes? Would that have been enough?_

No, he couldn't be thinking like that. Not at a time like this. He could still save everyone if he just maintained his composure. He could defeat Majin Buu, and then if Dende was still around, they could use the dragon balls to repair all the damage and wish everyone back to life.

However, that depended on whether or not Dende was alive.

"What about Dende? Is he alright?" Gohan asked.

Gohan's worst fears were confirmed. Dende was missing in action. No one knew what had happened to him. Was he dead? Gohan searched deeply with his senses.

_Wait a second, I feel something. It's faint, but it's there._

Gohan dismissed his flight of fancy. It was of no consequence anyway. Even if Dende was dead, there would still be hope to save the earth and its people. They could use the Namekian dragon balls to revive everyone.

He hated to be so pragmatic, but it was the only comfort he could find in this grim situation. He absolutely had to focus. He had to channel his anger, his sadness, his frustration, and his grief. He had to integrate it into his power. It was the only way to win.

"So hot shot, you want to fight Majin Buu?" the pink menace asked him.

"Fight you? No, I want to kill you."

* * *

><p>And that was exactly what Gohan thought he had done, even if the thought was only fleeting. Buu detonated himself in an attempt to take out Gohan, but his hackneyed plan had failed and now the group was using their newly found free time to search for Dende.<p>

As he hovered over the barren landscape with the others, Gohan made an effort of keep the thoughts of the events of the past hour out of his head. He had already had entirely too much time to think when he was having his powers awoken by Old Kai. Perhaps he had let his boredom during the past day get to him more than he realized, because he had really hoped that his entrance would be a bit more grand than this. He had hoped that he'd make it back in time to save all of his friends.

Especially Videl.

_Hold on. What is that?_

"Wait, I see something!" Gohan said.

"What?" Piccolo inquired.

"A man! And a dog!"

Piccolo and Goten swooped down, retrieving Hercule and Bee. Upon realizing who the man he had seen was, Gohan's heart sank.

_Oh man, I bet he doesn't know about Videl. I'm not looking forward to telling him about that._

Gohan was relieved that he didn't have to spend much time contemplating the matter, as Dende turned up very soon afterward. The group landed by him, everyone eager to find out how he survived.

Dende's tale was impressive, and Piccolo and the boys were elated, but Gohan found it hard to get excited. He sat stiff and icy, perched on a rock above the rest of the group.

_Honestly, I would much rather fight Buu than tell Hercule that Videl is dead._

Gohan's thought caused his stomach to tie itself in a knot. Perhaps he hadn't even fully processed it himself. Videl was dead.

_Damn... She really is gone._

_And not only was I not there to save her, I broke my promise to her. I didn't take care of myself out there. I nearly died. I would be dead right now if Kibito hadn't found me and healed me._

"So what is Buu up to? What's he doing? Is he still destroying things?" Hercule asked, rapid-fire, sounding desperate to acquire any information about what was happening.

"Yes, he is," Piccolo replied gravely.

"But why? He said he would stop killing people and destroying things!"

"Hercule, the Buu you knew is long gone. This one is almost pure evil. You are the only person on earth he intended to keep alive."

"Wait, so he killed everybody except me?"

_Here we go..._

"Yes, that's correct," Gohan said grimly.

Hercule's face contorted into an expression of pained understanding, and with hesitation, he asked the question that Gohan dreaded.

"Even Videl?"

"Yes."

"WHAT? My sweet little Videl is dead?" Hercule wailed.

Gohan's heart sank again, this time much lower than before.

"My poor Videl..." Hercule cried. "How could Buu do that to her? Darn him! He was my friend!"

Gohan sunk into melancholy detachment at the thought of it all. This was going much worse than he'd anticipated. Hercule was moaning and crying and thrashing about.

_Who would have ever thought he'd react like this?_

Gohan snapped from his daze when Hercule came scurrying up to him and grabbed him by both shoulders.

"What's wrong with you? Why didn't you protect my little girl, huh? What kind of boyfriend are you, huh pal?"

Gohan's eyes grew wide. He had really hoped to avoid this confrontation, but he supposed it was inevitable.

"I wasn't there!" he said.

To his relief, Hercule backed off when Goten started talking about how they could bring her back to life, which of course sounded like irreverent nonsense to the man. For once, Gohan appreciated the man's ignorance.

_I know how you feel, Hercule. Her death hurts me terribly, too. I must look like a real jerk for not being as worked up about it as you are, as if I didn't care, but I know that Goten is right. We can bring her back to life, along with everyone else. But still, it hurts. I know._

_I love her._

_And yes, I want to beat my fists on this hard, barren earth until the ground cracks beneath me, and I want to scream and cry and wail, but I just can't do that right now. It's not the right time for that. And besides, when I win this battle, it won't matter anyway, because we'll be able to bring her back._

But just then, his train of thought came to a screeching halt as Majin Buu's power surfaced again. It was time to finish this fight, for the sake of the earth.

Gohan stood and readied himself.

_Videl, I'm so sorry. I will make it up to you when you return. But right now, I've got to win this battle. I'm off to save the Earth, again._

And as Gohan stood there before Buu, he decided that perhaps the time to make it up to Videl wasn't when she returned, but right now. He had to pay her back for his broken promise. Perhaps he would save the Earth for her.

It was worth it, after all.


	3. Air

III. Air

Her breaths became rapid pants as she dashed up the library's central staircase. Her frantic pace made the stale air of the stairwell rush through her hair like the wind. She was on a mission. It was not a heroic mission, but rather just something that she greatly desired to do. Nothing was going to stop her. Not tonight. She needed this.

Videl strung out the frozen moments from number to number, watching the floors go by. 2, 3, 4, 5… they passed by like mile markers, each so close together but feeling very far apart. She was in a race against time.

Thoughts flitted sporadically about in her head like fireflies in a jar. _Will I make it in time? Is it worth all this effort to get there? What would happen if I missed it? I think this watch is a bit fast. No time to try to figure that out, can't bank on that hunch being correct. Gotta hurry._

She narrowly dodged a pair of young women coming down the stairs, each encumbered with a stack of books. At the top of the flight, she latched onto the hand railing and used her momentum to swing around the corner into the next set of steps.

_6__, one more to go._

She threw her body into it and took the last flight two steps at a time. At the top, she kept going straight instead of turning around again and threw open the door, nearly hitting herself with it in her haste. Videl darted across the library floor, her rustling backpack swaying and bouncing with each step. She blushed when several people looked up at her, realizing the commotion she was making.

The wide glass doors she sought were only fifty feet ahead now. She focused her eyes on her destination. A feeling of relief settled in.

_Good! It looks like I've made it in time!_

The glass panes of the doors were set in heavy wrought iron frames, and Videl had to pause her chase to open them. Putting her weight behind her, she clutched the handles and leaned back slightly. The doors pulled open from their frames into the once again silent library. With a sigh of relief, she contentedly stepped across the threshold.

She could immediately feel the warmth of light on her skin, and the smell of the air, although not necessarily pleasant, was welcoming and familiar to her. The sunbeams on the distant horizon cast a golden glow upon her countenance. She spent a few moments taking in the sights and scents before wandering over to the edge of the balcony on which she stood. She placed her hands on the railing and tentatively leaned over the edge, gazing at the ground below.

Her hair was lifted up toward the sky in a whoosh of air. Momentarily startled, Videl put on a mocking grimace and shut her eyes, a smile on her lips. She pulled back and shook her head like a dog shaking the water out of its fur. The strands of her hair that had been misplaced by the gust fell back down into place.

Her bangs fell down in front of her eyes, partially obscuring her vision. She stuck out her bottom lip in a fake pout, frustrated at how gravity chose to make her hair settle right where it did. With some calculation, she let out a puff of breath, directed upward, blowing her bangs up and out of her way. To her dismay, they took the same path downward as they had before, falling in front of her eyes again.

Videl let out a sigh and gave in to the inevitable, lifting her hand to pull her hair off to the side and out of the way. She leaned over the balcony edge again, this time more prepared for the updraft that awaited her. Inwardly, she laughed in spite of herself. She had been just as unprepared for it the first time she and Gohan had been here together.

_That seems so long ago,_ she thought. Yet still, the thought of it made her heart jump. She looked down at her communicator watch and played with some buttons on it to bring up a calendar menu. Doing some math in her head, she went backward through time, counting off the weeks and the days.

_Five months,_ _I guess it really was a long time ago. But still, I can remember it as clear as day._

Videl drifted off in thought. It had been an April evening. Gohan had schoolwork he needed to get done, so he had spent the entire afternoon alone in the library. After a very lonely afternoon at home, Videl finally caved into her desire to see him and went to the library herself. When she showed up, the sun was just about to set, so Gohan put his books down for a few minutes and they went out on the balcony together.

There had been a strange feeling in the air that evening. It was some sort of tension that Videl couldn't really understand at the time. It wasn't a bad tension though. She had felt oddly happy and at ease there with him that night. The two shared a good laugh together when she stuck her head over the edge of the balcony and the updraft caught her off guard and messed her hair up. They held hands as they watched the sun set together, and when it disappeared behind the horizon, Gohan apologetically said he needed to get back to work.

He told her goodbye and that he'd see her tomorrow morning, but Videl held onto his hand as he turned to leave. He halted and turned back around, and looked at her to find that there was a great sadness on her face. He pulled in close to her and took hold of both of her hands, and tried to assure her that it was okay and they'd have lots of time to spend together tomorrow, but he trailed off in mid-sentence. Evidently, he felt that strange tension in the air, too.

And then, as if guided by some sort of higher power, they both pulled their faces in very close together and looked into each other's eyes, and then closed them in unison as their lips came together for the very first time.

Videl sighed at the thought of it. But not one to be distracted from her mission by such things, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and looked at her inbox again. There was the message from Gohan from an hour earlier.

"The sunset here at home was spectacular tonight. I really wish I could have seen it with you, but hey, you still have the chance to see it yourself."

Never before had Videl appreciated that they lived in different time zones. But tonight, it was the greatest thing in the world. Gohan was stuck at home at his mother's command. He couldn't be there with Videl, but at least he could send the sunset along to her as a gift. When Videl had realized that the sunset was drawing near, she ran off to the library, knowing it was the perfect place to view it, even if she would be alone this time.

As the wind through the city streets picked up with the dropping temperature, Videl stared at the horizon with a smile on her lips. Gohan was right; it was a spectacular sunset tonight. The air around the orb in the sky changed to rich shades of orange and red, and in the background, spectacular purples were weaved in with the golden glow. The light faded from yellow to golden orange to red, and finally the indigo of dusk enveloped Satan City.

There came a chill in the air and Videl stepped back inside, deciding it was probably time for her to head home. She pulled her phone back out of her pocket and sent Gohan a reply.

"Thanks Gohan, that sunset was definitely the best present anyone ever sent me by air mail."


	4. Water

IV. Water

As she sank deeper into slumber, Videl curled up around her extra-long pillow. She felt so very safe and warm under her sheets, being gradually pulled toward the dream world by the gentle patter of raindrops against her window. Only inside the confines of her bedroom's walls would she ever act like this, to show weakness.

She thought for a moment that perhaps she was being too harsh and judgmental by calling it weakness. Really, what girl didn't enjoy cuddling up in her warm bed? But then again, she considered, she wasn't exactly any girl. She was Videl Satan, the daughter of the world champion, and probably the strongest girl in the world.

_Well, except for Android 18,_ she admitted, being honest with herself. _Oh well. She's an android though, so I guess that still makes me the strongest normal woman._

The intensity of the rain deepened. The sound shifted slowly from a soft rumble to a bombardment. The wind roared and battered the walls of Satan Mansion with fat droplets of water from the black sky above. Videl shifted in her bed slightly and tightened her grip on her pillow, relishing the warmth of her body heat trapped beneath the sheets. She felt surges of inviting, sedating slumber roll over her body in waves, and gradually her limbs felt more and more like dead weight as her senses faded.

Her mind wandered to its usual last thought of the evening. There she was with Gohan, lying together on the sofa in the TV room on the first floor. It had been a night so similar to this one, with the rain pouring down outside. Her father had been away that evening, and she dismissed all of the housekeeping staff for the night so that Gohan could come over and they could be alone.

Videl had never been one for stereotypical dates. That night, she got to have her ideal date: takeout and an action movie. And as they lay there on that couch, the remains of their decimated meal strewn about the floor between them and the wall-sized television, the hero on the screen sprinting through the explosions in slow motion, the rain battering the brick walls outside, Gohan's hand wandered to her face and began to caress her skin.

The feeling was divine; her reaction to it, profound. She would never have thought that such a simple action would send shivers up her spine, but it did. It was bliss. Her smooth flesh tingled beneath Gohan's touch. The hairs on her neck stood on end. She felt like electricity was pulsing through her veins. Gohan's hand moved slowly forward, up and down from her cheek to her neck and back again, gradually from her ear in the direction of her eyes and mouth. And then, he paused momentarily, resting four of his fingers on her face. He moved his thumb gently onto her lips and began to stroke back and forth.

After a few minutes of this, she had felt unable to contain herself a second longer. She rolled over and turned to face him, intending to send her lips cascading down on his, but he intercepted her. Gohan placed his hands on her shoulders and held her at a bit of distance. He looked her directly in the eyes, and told her that he would always be there to protect her.

And now there they were, walking through the short, tickling grass toward the shoreline and the pier. It was a glorious summer day. It was warm without being hot and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. And best of all, since they were on the water, there was a pleasant, light, salty breeze. The scent of fish and shrimp on the grill sweetened the air, and out back by her aunt's house there was a congregation of all of her family members. Some of them, she hadn't seen in nearly a decade. They were all there for the reunion.

Videl felt ethereally happy, walking across her aunt's waterfront yard, hand in hand with Gohan. It was going to be such a fun day. They had been planning on going for a swim in the bay after the picnic was over, and Videl had her bathing suit on under her baggy shorts and t-shirt. Her whole family was there. Even her father found the time and the goodness in his heart to take a day off for the occasion.

The pier that she remembered from her childhood still stood, extending out some thirty feet past the shore into the tidal basin. It was old and was in need of a new coat of waterproof sealant, but it was still sturdy enough to serve its purpose. Videl kicked off her shoes and stepped out onto the sun-baked wood, beckoning Gohan to join her. At first, the heat of the planks seared the soles of her feet, but after a few seconds, her skin had adjusted to the temperature and she felt normal again. Together, the couple walked out toward the water.

"You weren't kidding, this place really is beautiful," Gohan said as they stood on the end of the pier. They faced into the light wind, which was rushing into their small alcove from the inlet from the bay, and gazed off into the distance. "I'm really glad you brought me here."

Videl smiled. "And I'm really glad you came. I figured you'd like it here. It's the kind of nature you like, even if it's not quite what you have back at home."

"Mhmm," Gohan nodded in reply. He shifted his attention to the body of water beneath their feet and an inquisitive look adorned his face. "I wonder if the water is warm."

"Don't know," Videl shrugged in return. Her face turned to a scowl. "Perhaps if daddy had been able to find some time off from his intense schedule at any point in the last ten years, we could have come here more often and I'd be able to tell you what the water is like here at this time of year," she said with thick sarcasm.

"Well, we're here now, aren't we?" Gohan said. "Why don't I test the water out?"

Gohan rolled up the legs of his pants and sat down on the edge of the pier, dipping his feet into the great basin beneath them.

"Hey, it feels pretty good!" he said. He cupped his hands and leaned over, dipping them into the water, and then splashed some water up onto his face.

"What are you doing?" Videl inquired, laughing.

"I'm testing the water! It's warm! It feels great!"

"Whatever works for you. I, personally, would prefer to not get my face and clothes all wet doing that."

"Aww, come on, it's just water!"

"I know, you're just crazy," she teased.

"Whatever," Gohan replied. "It really does feel great. You should test it out too. I'm going to go back inside and change into my swimming trunks."

"Okay," Videl said. "You've got my curiosity now." She undid the drawstring on her shorts that kept them held up and let them drop down to her ankles, and then pulled her t-shirt over her head and let it fall to the boards beneath her. Now dressed only in her bathing suit, she sat down on the edge of the pier and slid into the water.

Immediately she felt warm comfort all over. Gohan was right; the water was very pleasantly warm. She tread water for a while and let her head and body roll backward, as if she was lying on a cushion of water. She sighed contentedly.

"Was I right, or was I right?" Gohan said jokingly.

"No," Videl responded, laughing.

"That's what I thought," Gohan replied. "Will you be okay here for a few minutes while I go change?"

"I think I can take care of myself out here," Videl said with a smirk.

"Alright then, I'll be right back," Gohan said, and he turned back toward the house and down the plank walkway.

Videl shut her eyes and basked in the sunlight.

_Will I be alright? What kind of question is that? Yes, of course I'll be alright. What sort of trouble could I possibly get into while gently treading five feet of water?_

_I'm the strongest girl on the planet, and Gohan knows that, too. He knows I can take care of myself, because he understands that I'm strong and independent. He's only asked or said anything about my safety a few times, come to think of it. One of those times was on the sofa that rainy night, and most of the others were during or right after the Buu crisis._

_I'm going to be fine._

_...won't I?_

Videl opened her eyes and looked around, curious if she hadn't noticed something about the water that could have been dangerous enough for Gohan to question her about her safety. She gasped. When she had shut her eyes earlier, the water had been a wonderful shade of translucent blue, but now, the water was murky brown and muddy. The basin looked sickly and polluted. She whipped her head around a few times. The water was stagnant as far as she could see. The sky had turned a looming shade of gray, as if a storm was approaching. There was a feeling of palpable tension in the suddenly humid air.

She realized she couldn't see all the way to the bottom anymore. She looked down at her feet to make sure that her they weren't in any danger of being caught in anything, but she couldn't see clearly that far down into the murky water. She felt a nervous pang in the pit of her stomach. Two large, bulbous sea nettles were eerily floating just a few inches in front of her. Their tentacles fanned out and wafted behind them, coming threateningly close to her exposed skin.

She let out a small yelp and pushed back a few inches through the water. But then, reconsidering her actions, she halted, unsure of what was behind her. She felt a twinge of fear move from the small of her back all the way up her spine. Videl froze in her place momentarily, filled with a desire to get out of the water, but unsure of what to do or where to go. She was too far from the pier to just grab on and pull herself out of the water, she couldn't go forward, and she didn't want to turn around either.

Transfixed, Videl saw her vision blur. Everything was suddenly a cloudy brown before her. She was dumbfounded briefly, but then she noticed she was on eye level with the sea nettles. She saw them puff their way along, slowly drifting away. And she… was she sinking? She was beneath them now. No, they were out of sight. What was that sensation on her back? It felt so gritty, yet smooth, and it was very cool…

The light from above... It seemed so far away. It shimmered... She was underwater! She was lying on the bottom of the basin! That sensation on her back - it was mud.

_Oh... my... Oh no! What's happening? What's going on? Why can't I move? My arms, my legs, they can't move! They won't move! My head... I can't even turn my head! Am I paralyzed? I must be, I can't budge! Did one of those jellyfish sting me? No, that can't be, I would have felt that... I've got to get out of here! Where is Gohan? He said he'd be back by now, but-_

Her stream of consciousness halted as she felt the air escape her mouth. She felt the bubbles tickle the roof of her mouth and her lips as they exited her body. Then, the unthinkable. She couldn't control it; her body just simply had to have air. It was a reflex. She had to breathe in, but she knew there was no air. She felt the cavern of her mouth fill with the muddy water as her body betrayed her. It inundated her throat and lungs. She felt a lapping, bubbling sensation as she began to choke and the last pockets of the precious gas escaped from her.

Videl sat bolt upright and hyperventilated. Her body was damp with sweat. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot and her shoulders heaved up and down as she breathed heavily. Panicked, she grabbed at her sheets in handfuls and ripped them off the bed, tossing them aside in a sudden claustrophobic spasm.

When her breathing quieted, she gave her room a close inspection. The rain still pattered on the window quietly, but aside from the small amount of additional noise and the sheets on the floor, there was nothing out of place. She let out a great sigh, and then, as the memories of the dream came rushing back to her, she moaned and fell backward onto her bed again. The tears came rapidly and overwhelmed her as she sobbed into her pillow. She remained that way for a few minutes, and after that she had no recollection at all.

For a while, she thought she'd cried herself back to sleep. But suddenly, she was awoken by a soft clicking sound, a flash of golden light, and a touch on her arm. Startled, she jumped slightly and rolled over to find the source.

"Gohan? Is that you?"

Gohan stood before her, dripping wet. A trail of soggy footprints on the carpet led from the slightly ajar window to where he stood at the side of her bed. The golden light from the lamp by her bed illuminated Gohan's face. His expression was one of grave concern. The pull chain on Videl's lamp still swung back and forth in the silence.

"It's me, Videl," he said comfortingly.

"What are you doing here? Why did you come? You're all wet!"

"I could feel your energy. It felt like you were in some kind of struggle for your life. It felt terrible. It was like you were dying. I had to come to make sure you were alright. I flew here as fast as I possibly could."

"I'm okay, I just had a really bad dream..." Videl trailed off, tears beginning to form in her eyes again.

Taking her hand, Gohan sat down on the side of the bed next to Videl and pulled her in close. "It's okay. I'm here now."

Videl buried her head in Gohan's shoulder, and the tears fell like rain.


	5. Lightning

V. Lightning

There was a hiss, a crackle, and then a bang as the circuit exploded right in Gohan's face, leaving him thunderstruck. A full week's worth of work literally went up in smoke before his eyes. Heads all over the classroom turned to look at him. People nearby fanned the smoke away with their hands, looks of disgust on their faces. Gohan could hardly blame them. The smell wasn't pleasant at all.

Gohan gulped as he watched his teacher get up from his desk and walk over to the lab station he had just wrecked. The class went completely silent, anxiously awaiting his verdict. He made his approach calmly and slowly, stopping on the way to flick on the control for the fume vents. He stood menacingly over Gohan's shoulder for a few seconds, surveying the damage, before he spoke.

"Well Gohan, what happened here?" he asked.

"Well, uh, sir, it, uh, blew up," Gohan ventured nervously, one hand behind his neck.

"I can see that," he replied, nodding. "What do you think went wrong?"

"Well, sir, I'm, uh, not entirely sure. I was just, hooking up the power supply for the first time and, uh, when I turned the power on, it, uh, started smoking, and, um, exploded..."

Gohan had turned beet red. All week in physics lab, he had been catching a ton of grief from his classmates because he was so far ahead. It was Friday afternoon, and they weren't supposed to be wiring the power supply until next Wednesday. Now, he looked very foolish indeed.

The teacher delicately picked up Gohan's smoldering, charred circuit board. With a pair of pliers, he removed the remains of what had once been an operational amplifier. The plastic was melted, the pins turned black, the once beautiful chip melted and cracked in half. He turned the device over several times in his hands, examining the wreckage.

"Looks to me like you drove too much current through your circuit. Did you adjust the amperage coming out of the power supply?"

Gohan felt a feeling like he had just swallowed a rock as he turned his head slowly to look at his power supply. His teacher's hunch was correct. He had the current turned all the way up. He was lucky no one nearby was hurt. That sort of amperage was lethal to humans.

"A-apparently not," Gohan mumbled.

His teacher gave him a grim nod. "I see. Well you're quite lucky you didn't kill yourself. Fifty amps across the heart is enough to kill a man a hundred times over. No worries, though. You won't make that mistake again when you reconstruct your circuit."

Gohan let out an unintelligible noise that was something between a faint cry of pain and a declaration of disbelief.

"You just get this mess cleaned up now, and I'll go get you some more parts from the storage cabinet," his teacher said before turning and walking out of the classroom.

Dejectedly, Gohan brought a trash can and a hand broom over to his lab table and began sweeping away the ruined parts.

"Hey, good going, Gohan," Sharpner said, his voice absolutely dripping with sarcasm.

Ever oblivious, Gohan just smiled nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess I really blew it, didn't I?" he replied.

"Yeah, literally," Sharpner said, capitalizing on the opportunity for the joke. The class burst out into laughter. Gohan suddenly felt very hot and began to sweat under his collar. Nervously, he let out a halfhearted chuckle in unison with his classmates.

"Who'd have thought that our resident genius would go so fast that he forgot to read the huge bold print on the instruction sheet?" Sharpner mused aloud for all to hear. He held up the several-page thick lab instruction sheet and pointed to the middle of the fifth page. There, in plain sight, was a diagram of the power supply and huge, bold letters that read: BE SURE TO TURN THE CURRENT OUTPUT ALL THE WAY DOWN BEFORE CONNECTING THE POWER.

There was more laughter and various sneers from the peanut gallery. Gohan couldn't remember ever being so embarrassed. He hung his head and turned back to his work, cleaning up his mess. It was bad enough that he had to start all over now, and that he'd probably have to pay for all the parts he ruined. He hardly needed to be made a laughing stock on top of all that.

"Bet you think you're pretty smart now, dontcha?" Sharpner said smugly.

"Sharpner!" gasped Erasa, looking offended. Sharpner's antics had gone on long enough.

"Shut up, Sharpner!" Videl commanded.

"What, babe?" Sharpner asked.

"You shut that stupid mouth of yours! And don't call me babe!" Videl spat back at him.

"Yeah, Sharpner, Gohan doesn't deserve that," Erasa said. "He just made a mistake! Everyone does that!"

"Whatever," Sharpner scoffed. "I just thought it was really funny to finally see nerd-boy mess up. I figured it was a worthy occasion to poke a little fun at him. If the guy can't take a joke, then forget it."

"Hey, Gohan can clearly take the joke. If you would just look at him, you'd see that he's the calm one! The problem here is that you're completely out of line! And don't you call him nerd-boy!"

The class collectively drew in breath at Videl's harsh admonishment. Sharpner retreated a step, taken aback by Videl's hostility.

"Whoa now!" he said. "What's up with defending Gohan? Everyone knows he's the school's biggest nerd. Do you have a crush on the guy or something? You'd better not, babe, because the whole school knows you're the only one for me."

"I told you to stop calling me babe, Sharpner!" Videl fired back at him. "I will never be yours! Besides, Gohan is better looking than you anyway."

Sharpner recoiled in surprise. "What?" he blurted out.

"You heard her," Erasa said.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sharpner exclaimed. "Gohan, better looking than me? The kid has a greater chance of being struck by lightning than going out with Videl!"

Gohan was extraordinarily glad that afternoon that physics lab was his last class of the day. After his ordeal with Sharpner, he was very ready to change into his Saiyaman outfit and fly back home for the weekend. That was all the embarrassment he felt he could handle for one day.

When he finally left the building, he decided that it was probably a good idea to blow off some steam by patrolling the city for a while. To his chagrin, it was a peaceful afternoon in Satan City. The city was hushed beneath the foreboding dark clouds in the distance. The people of the city, usually bustling about on a Friday afternoon, were all preparing to get indoors to weather the coming storm.

Determined to find something to do before he went home, or at least get a decent view to help him relax, Gohan flew up to the top of the radio tower in the downtown. The top of the antenna was the highest point in the entire city. From there, he could see everything. If there was any misdoing on the streets beneath him, he would certainly know.

The minutes ticked by slowly. There was a strange feeling in the damp air. It was positively palpable. Gohan swore he could smell something peculiar in the atmosphere. It seemed so familiar, but it was slightly distorted. After some contemplation, he realized that it was the smell of oncoming rain, mixed with the smells of the city.

He decided it was time to go when he saw the wall of rain come over the mountaintop. He loved his self-imposed civic duties, but there was nothing happening this afternoon, and he had no intention of getting wet. Plus, Videl could probably handle anything that happened by herself, anyway. He touched off from the top of the tower and began his eastward flight home. Then, something amazing happened.

For a split second, Gohan felt fine, but then he felt something coming at him from behind. It was incredibly fast, far faster than any human or anything made by a human. It had a dangerous feel about it. It was surging with energy. It was powerful and threatening, and coming right at him. He had no choice but to turn around and defend himself.

With the speed of a bullet, he whipped around into a fighting stance, ready to defend himself. But then, all he saw was a white streak. There was a flash, a crack, and then a frozen moment in time. The bolt arced down from the sky to him, terminating in his body. Gohan was dumbfounded. He felt like his heart had stopped.

_Am I dead? What was that? Was that... lightning?_

He felt inanimate and numb all over. His costume was charred, and his helmet had been blown clear off his head. He felt deafened and partially blinded from the flash. He was certain his heart wasn't beating. And then, there was a rush of wind from beneath him and a rumble rolled through the city streets.

_Oh no, am I falling? I can't control it! I guess even a Super Saiyan can't handle that much electricity directly to the heart._

Gohan plummeted through the air, paralyzed. As he accelerated, he was rolled over by the force of the air currents swirling by him. He saw where he was headed.

_The park! Oh, great, what if someone sees me like this? My helmet is gone!_

He had several seconds before he reached the ground, and he miraculously found that he could move a little bit and get a cushion of energy beneath him before impact. He hit the ground relatively softly, in an area momentarily devoid of people. He sighed in relief when he realized that he hadn't been spotted, and once more when he realized he could feel that he had a pulse again. He couldn't get up quite yet, but he figured he'd be fine in just a few minutes. He just needed to relax and recompose himself, and then he'd be able to get on his way again.

But then, for another split second, he felt his hair raise and his heart jump, as another bolt of lightning came crashing down nearby. It struck the light pole a few feet away from him, momentarily numbing his senses. A few seconds passed before he realized, to his terror, that he heard the sounds of people scurrying about, undoubtedly coming to investigate the lightning strike.

_Oh no, I'm in my disguise! If anyone sees me like this, I'm done for!_

With all the will he could muster, he forced his numbed right hand over to his left wrist and touched the button on his watch. His Saiyaman costume faded from sight, replaced by his normal clothes, which to Gohan's surprise were also charred from the midair strike.

He made it out of his costume only barely in time. A yellow jet copter came descending from the sky, and a familiar dark-haired figure clad in baggy clothing came rushing over to him.

"Oh no, Gohan! Were you struck by that bolt of lightning?" Videl asked, with panic in her voice. Gohan lay motionless on the grass beneath her, charred and stunned.

She knelt down beside him and grabbed his wrist, feeling for a pulse.

"Gohan, I can feel that you're there! Can you hear me? Please, if you can, respond somehow!"

Gohan didn't feel very apt for talking at that moment, so instead he simply wrapped his hand around Videl's wrist. He couldn't see it, but Videl smiled at him. She called for an ambulance on her communicator watch, and then she sat down beside him. She put her free hand beneath Gohan's head in a comforting gesture so that he wasn't lying completely on the hard ground.

They passed a couple of minutes in silence, Videl keeping her hand over Gohan's vein the whole time, holding onto his pulse. The rain finally arrived, and Gohan stirred a bit. He opened his eyes, and to his surprise, Videl was laughing lightly.

"Hey Videl, what's up?" he asked weakly.

"Just wait until Sharpner hears about this," she chuckled.


	6. Wood

VI. Wood

As she soared above the treetops, she felt as happy and as free as she could ever remember feeling. It had been a glorious week. It was her sixth day of flight training, and now she was skilled enough to make high flights over short distances - just enough to fly back from the clearing where they were training to Gohan's house.

Flanking Videl in midair were Gohan and Goten, flying beside her just in case her energy suddenly gave out on her, as it had a couple of times in the past. It was lunchtime, and the trio was flying home, the brothers eagerly awaiting yet another wonderful meal from Chi-Chi.

However, when they arrived back at the house, they found a very disappointing sight. The picnic table and set of wooden chairs weren't out under the old maple tree. And, to Gohan and Goten's tremendous dismay, there was no scent of food coming from the kitchen.

"Aww man, why doesn't mom have lunch ready?" Goten whimpered.

"Don't know," Gohan said with poorly concealed disappointment in his voice. "She's been waiting here for us at this time every day we've done this so far."

"What do you think is up?" Goten asked. "You don't think we've run out of food, have we?" he said with panic in his voice. His words came out gradually faster and faster. "Could we have eaten everything? That would be horrible! I don't want to starve to death! Oh no!"

"No, I don't think that's it," Gohan said. "There's no way we could have done that. I saw plenty to eat in the refrigerator this morning."

"Then what's going on?" Goten sniveled.

"Beats me, but we should go check it out."

Gohan walked to the door of the kitchen and poked his head inside. The scene was disheartening. Not only was there no sign of food being prepared, there wasn't even a fire lit in the wood stove. It looked as though Chi-Chi hadn't even started working on a meal yet, and it was already noon.

As Gohan stepped inside, taking a look around, he considered how strange this was. The thought of his mother's safety momentarily crossed his mind. Wondering if she was okay, he closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to locate Chi-Chi's energy signal.

His concentration was broken by a loud cracking noise followed by two hollow clunking sounds. He looked around a couple of times to try and figure out where the noise came from, but then Goten peeked in the door.

"Hey Gohan, I think we found mom."

"Where is she? And what's going on?"

"She's out back."

Chi-Chi was indeed around the back of the house, and when Gohan spotted her, he momentarily backed away in fright. She held an axe high above her head, prepared to swing it down. At her feet sat a large, squat, cylindrical piece of wood from the base of a tree, with another smaller quarter-section of log balanced delicately on top of it. She looked absolutely furious.

"Oh, so THERE you are!" she said upon seeing the trio arrive, her voice with palpable hostility in it. She set the axe down and planted her fists on her hips.

"H-hi, mom," Gohan said sheepishly.

"Where in the world have you been?" Chi-Chi inquired.

"Where we said we would be, out by the edge of the woods, doing flight training."

"And while you were off having fun, soaring around carefree out there, I've been left here to do all of your chores!"

"What are you talking about, mom?"

"Today was YOUR turn to split wood for the fire, but no, you ran off this morning without doing it!"

Gohan turned the shade of a ripe tomato and suddenly found his feet very interesting.

"Oh, yeah..." he mumbled.

"So since YOU went off this morning without doing it, I'VE been left here to do it all by myself! And as you can see, I'm nowhere near done yet! So, until it gets done, there won't be any lunch, because there's no way I can cook without a fire!"

"Yeah, sorry..."

"You'd BETTER be sorry! Now I'm way behind schedule for everything I have to do today, and Goten and Videl are hungry, and there's no food on the table because you forgot to split wood this morning!"

Gohan let out a small noise of shame and defeat. Goten and Videl shyly cowered in the background, fearful and stunned by Chi-Chi's ferocity.

"So now, you'd better get to work, mister, because meals don't make themselves, and we have company over!"

"Right," Gohan said, scratching the back of his neck, not yet having made eye contact with his mother.

"Well, hop to it!" Chi-Chi commanded before she stormed off. Gohan was left behind, stunned.

Chi-Chi began to approach Goten and Videl. The duo started to recoil in fright as she drew near, but to their amazement, she smiled at them graciously.

"I'm so sorry about all this mess, Videl. I apologize for having lunch late like this, it's so inappropriate of a host to do this to a guest."

Videl's eyes widened at the woman's sudden personality change. She gulped, feeling like she was standing a foot away from a lit stick of dynamite. She found that all she could do to respond was nod her head and mutter a faint "Don't worry about it."

"Goten?" Chi-Chi asked. "Can you keep Videl company for a while? It's going to be about another hour before I have lunch ready."

Floored by the news that it was going to be another hour before he could eat, Goten felt as though he had swallowed an ice cube and was suddenly incapable of speech.

"Oh, it'll be okay, Chi-Chi," Videl said. "I'll find something to do for an hour until everything's ready."

"Are you sure?" Chi-Chi said with concern in her voice.

"Of course, I'll be alright. You just go do what you need to do, and I'll be around."

"Okay," Chi-Chi said. "Now Goten, you behave with Videl, do you understand?"

"Mhmm," Goten mumbled, nodding, still stricken from the news of his hour-long wait to come.

"Alright then, I'll be getting to work now," Chi-Chi said, and she disappeared into the kitchen.

Goten stood beside Videl awkwardly, silently watching Gohan as he dejectedly drove the axe through the firewood, piece by piece.

"Man, what am I gonna do for an hour? That's like forever!" Goten moaned.

Gohan looked up and saw that Videl was at a loss for words. He spoke up.

"Just go play around for another hour, Goten. It won't be so bad. It'll be over before you know it."

"But I'm hungry! It's gonna take forever!"

Gohan couldn't deny Goten's point. It certainly would seem like forever to him. The boy was too young and impatient to have any sense of time. He scrambled for ideas.

"Well, you heard what mom said, didn't you? It's your job to keep Videl company while I take care of this firewood and she cooks. So, why don't you do that?"

"But..." Goten looked up at Videl with curiosity, and then back to Gohan. "What am I supposed to do? She's a girl. She won't want to play rough like Trunks does. She'll probably cry like Marron does all the time."

Videl gritted her teeth. Gohan saw her frustration and immediately tried to steer Goten away from the notion.

"Well, Videl lives in the city, far away from here, and she probably hasn't spent much time in the wilderness before, so why don't you show her around for a while and take her for a walk in the woods. Show her the sights here."

Gohan felt like sighing in relief when he saw Goten's face brighten up. Evidently, the youngster thought this was a suitable plan.

"Okay!" he said as he began to jog in place excitedly. "Come on Videl, let's go! This way!"

Goten grabbed Videl's hand and began to pull her off towards the woods. Videl, stunned, felt herself being dragged away and was forced to take a hurried step forward. She looked back at Gohan and gave him a reluctant look, and then ran off with Goten tugging at her arm.

It didn't take Goten long to lose Videl once they were in the woods. Videl's inexperience with walking in forests combined with Goten's speed and knack for it made it inevitable. This arrangement suited Videl well, though. She had never had a peaceful walk in the woods by herself before, and she found it quite relaxing.

The trees here were taller than any she had ever seen. They rose hundreds of feet into the air; the oldest tree in the park in Satan City was perhaps only sixty feet tall. She craned her neck up to look at the canopy in the same way that visitors to the city looked up at the skyscrapers. She felt silly for doing it, but since nobody was around, it didn't really matter.

She had never heard anything this close to silence before. Except for the occasional rustle of breeze, the chirp of a bird, or the crunch of fallen leaves and twigs beneath her feet, there was no noise at all. It was a bewildering sensation to her. It felt faintly eerie. She had learned from a very young age to fall asleep to the sounds of angry drivers roaring through the streets and honking their horns at one another. The total lack of sound was something that had only been a concept to her before, never a reality until now.

The same notion went for untouched nature, as well. She'd been on plenty of nature-based field trips before, such as visiting the forestry service on edge of the mountains outside the city or touring the canyon or going to the aquarium, but this was real nature. It was the simplest yet most profound thing she had ever experienced. For minute after endless minute, she lost herself in time, meandering through the forest, staring up to the tops of the trees in awe.

She gasped and jumped slightly when she felt a tug on the back of her shirt.

"Whatcha doing?" Goten asked.

"Goten!" Videl exclaimed, startled. "How did you sneak up on me like that?"

"Huh? I didn't sneak up on you."

"But I didn't hear you at all! When you walk out here, it makes noise, with all those leaves under your feet. How did you get behind me so quietly?"

"Oh, I didn't walk on the ground. I was jumping in the trees," Goten replied with a grin.

"Ah," Videl said.

_Why didn't I think of that? The kid can fly. Why would he bother taking the ground?_

"So hey, there's something I've gotta show you!" Goten said excitedly.

"And what might that be?" Videl inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a tree!"

Videl slumped her shoulders and looked at Goten in disbelief.

"There are thousands of trees here, Goten," she said flatly.

"Yeah, but this one's special!"

"Okay, I'll come look, but you've got to go slowly so I can keep up with you."

"Okay!"

Goten weaved his way through the forest with Videl in tow, stopping periodically to make sure she was still in eyesight. It took about five minutes to get to the special tree, and when they arrived, Videl was out of breath. 'Slow' for Goten was blisteringly fast for Videl.

Videl hunched over and placed her hand on her knees, trying to get her breath back.

"So," she said, heaving for air, "Is this it?"

"Yep!" Goten said, a big smile on his face.

"Well, what's so special about it? It looks like all the others to me."

"Look over here!" Goten said, beckoning Videl to the other side of the tree with his hand. Videl followed, her breathing beginning to calm.

"Right here!" Goten proudly proclaimed. He stopped and pointed to some irregularities in the bark on the tree. Videl squinted and looked at them closely for a minute. After some examination, it dawned upon her that she was looking at writing. Somebody had carved something into the tree. She tried to read what it said.

"Go... Han... Ox... King... Go... Ku... Chi... Chi? Wait, these are all names!"

"Uh huh!" Goten said, nodding.

Videl slowly read the names from the tree.

"Gohan, Ox-King, Goku, Chi-Chi, then Gohan again, and then you, Goten!"

"Yeah, I carved my name here just a couple of weeks ago!"

"So is this your family tree?" Videl suggested, with a joking tone in her voice at the realization of the unintentional pun she had made.

"Yeah, it is!" Goten said, completely oblivious to the dual meaning. Videl smiled at the boy and looked more closely at the carvings.

"Wait, so why is Gohan's name on here twice?"

"Oh, that's not the same Gohan," Goten said, pointing at the oldest-looking, most faded name on the tree.

"What do you mean?"

"That's my great-grandpa Gohan! I never met him."

"Oh, I get it!" Videl said after some contemplation. "Gohan, your brother, is named after him, isn't he?"

"Yep!" Goten replied, nodding.

"That's pretty cool," Videl said, now admiring the longevity of the history contained on the surface of this innocuous tree. She ran her hand over the rough bark, and then, without realizing it, began to run her fingers over the younger Gohan's name.

"Hey Videl?" Goten said, looking up at her.

"Yes?" she replied, stirred from her momentary trance.

"You have a watch, don't you? Do you know what time it is?"

"Oh, yeah, I do," Videl said, holding up her left wrist. "It's... 12:51."

"Does that mean it's almost time to eat?"

"Yes, it does. There's only nine minutes left until the hour has passed."

"Oh boy!" Goten said. "Come on, let's go! I don't wanna be late!"

Videl looked at Goten with a bit of disappointment, then at the tree, and then back to him again.

"Do you think you can go on without me?" she asked.

"Uh, I guess so. Why?"

"Because I'd like to stay here for a little while longer."

"Well, okay, I guess. I'll see you back at the house!"

Goten dashed away, jumping up into the air and kicking off from tree to tree, headed back in the direction from which they had come. When he was out of sight, Videl turned back to the special tree.

She ran her fingers over Gohan's name again.

_I kind of wish that Gohan had been the one to show me this. It would have been really nice, alone out here, just the two of us._

_Wait, what am I thinking!? I... I don't like him, do I? Like that? I..._

Her fingers still absentmindedly traced the carved letters on the bark that spelled out his name.

_Yeah I do._

Videl reached her hand down into her pocket and grasped her pocket knife, but halted before she withdrew it.

_What am I doing? This is their family tree! It's not right of me to put my name here like this._

_Not right now, at least._

She smiled as she pulled her empty hand out of her pocket and read the names, one by one, once more. No, now was not the time, but the time would come, she decided. Maybe not on this one, but sometime, somewhere, she and Gohan were going to have their names on a tree together. She knew how she felt. There was no stopping her.

_Well, except..._

Videl smirked as she began to plot, realizing that she still had one more obstacle to get through before that would happen.

_If only he wasn't as dense as this tree._


	7. Metal

VII. Metal

"Man," she said, "if I had a zenni for every time that happened, I'd be-"

Erasa cut her off mid-sentence.

"You wouldn't be any richer than you already are, silly. Now come on, lighten up, girl! It's your birthday! You're supposed to get surprises from your friends!"

Videl furrowed her brow and sighed. There was no arguing with Erasa about this.

"Oh, alright..."

Erasa giggled and thrust the fistful of red balloons and a handmade card into Videl's hands.

"It had better be alright! Happy birthday!" she said, wrapping her arms around her best friend. Videl blushed.

"Yeah babe, happy birthday," Sharpner said, leaning back in his chair.

"Ugh," Videl grunted, red-faced. She was already embarrassed enough with everyone in the classroom filing in for the morning, staring at her and her bunch of balloons. Sharpner's pitiful advances were the last thing she needed. "I don't think Gohan would appreciate it if he heard you calling me 'babe,' Sharpner."

"Whatever, the kid doesn't have an ounce of spite in him. So what if he's a thousand times stronger than I am? He wouldn't do anything about it."

"Well, why don't you ask him what he thinks about it, because here he is," Videl said with a smirk, pointing to the door, where Gohan had just entered.

Sharpner sat up abruptly and buried his head in the nearest book he could find, not at all intent on having some one-on-one with Gohan before the day even began. Erasa laughed at him.

"Figures. Your bark has always been bigger than your bite," she teased.

Sharpner just grunted as Gohan ascended the steps to his seat.

"Morning everyone!" he said, taking his bag off of his shoulder and placing it on the desk.

"Hey there," Videl said, smiling at him.

"And happy birthday," he said to her.

"Thanks," she replied.

"Well well well, Gohan. Slacking off, I see," Erasa said, shaking her finger at Gohan.

"Huh?"

"You don't have a present for your girlfriend on her birthday? That's a big faux pas, you know."

Gohan's face lit up and he scratched the back of his neck like he always did when he was embarrassed.

"Oh, yeah, well, about that," he said. "Videl, could you come with me to West City this afternoon?"

Videl looked at him, puzzled.

"Sure. I don't see why not," she replied.

The remainder of the school day passed in very normal fashion, except for Videl's comically large bunch of balloons, which created some awkward situations in the crowded hallways and resulted in her popping all of them and throwing them away before lunch.

Gohan remained very quiet and reserved for the rest of the day, much to the confusion of everyone else. When Videl asked him what was going on, he replied with a simple 'nothing,' and went right back to being steely and distant.

That afternoon, after Videl called into the police department and told the chief she was taking the afternoon off, the two flew to West City together. Gohan was still silent even when they were alone, and Videl's second attempt to find out what was wrong was met with the same answer as before, leaving her completely clueless and rather frustrated. She didn't speak again until West City was on the horizon.

"Where are we going when we get to the city?" she asked.

"Capsule Corporation."

Videl considered the possibilities for a minute, and then had a sudden realization of what was going on.

_I bet I know what he's up to. They're having a surprise party for me there._

_Well that's just great. That's just what I wanted, another surprise. Man do I ever get tired of stupid stuff like that. I get 'surprises' all the time, for no reason, and it ruins the fun. I never do anything to deserve them, either. I just get showered with presents and false affection because I'm famous and wealthy, and it's all meaningless._

_Well, for Gohan, I guess I'll tolerate it. I know that everyone there will mean well. I'll just have to let him know later that I don't really like things like this._

For the brief remainder of their flight, they were both as cold and solid as stone, silent and stoic.

When they descended from the city skyline and touched down at Capsule Corporation, Videl looked around the scene suspiciously. If there was indeed a surprise party here, it was well hidden. There was nothing at all out of the ordinary going on, no suspicious cars, and no signs of activity.

Gohan led her silently into the main lobby of the building and asked the receptionist for Bulma, who told him that she would be with them momentarily. The couple loitered in the lobby in silence for a few minutes until the blue-haired woman they were looking for appeared, dressed in oil-stained coveralls, a huge wrench sticking out of one of her pockets.

"Hey Gohan! Hey Videl!" she said as she walked toward them, waving and smiling.

"Hey Bulma," Gohan said with a nervous half-smile.

"Hello," Videl said.

"And happy birthday to you, Videl," Bulma said to Videl, putting her arms around her. Videl blushed and returned the gesture, feeling a bit awkward.

_How does Bulma know it's my birthday? I didn't tell her. And the hug is nice and all, but this is embarrassing, out here in the lobby..._

"Thanks," she replied halfheartedly.

"So," Bulma said, turning to Gohan. "I bet you're looking for the lab key, aren't you?"

"Mhmm, I am," Gohan replied, nodding.

"Well, kiddo, here you go," Bulma said, pulling a key ring from her deep pockets. "It's this one, the old, faded, bronze-colored one."

"Thanks," Gohan said, taking the ring from her and flipping through it to get to the key Bulma described.

"Alright then," Bulma said, placing her hands on her hips. "I better get back to work. Sorry I have to run like this. I'll be sure to catch up with you kids sometime soon."

"That's alright Bulma, we'll see you," Gohan said as Bulma turned and returned from the direction in which she came. Gohan then turned to look at Videl.

"Okay," he said. "Let's go."

Videl glared at him as they left the lobby and turned right down a hallway.

"Gohan, what's going on with all this secrecy? You're acting so strange! You haven't told me what's going on and it's like I've been trying to talk to a wall all afternoon! You're really aggravating me."

Gohan looked down with a withdrawn and worrisome expression on his face. He spoke softly.

"I'm sorry, Videl. I promise you'll find out in just a minute. I didn't mean to act like this today, but I just can't help it," he said apologetically.

Videl's eyebrows creased in frustration and she pinched the bridge of her nose as they descended a few flights of stairs. The rest of their walk passed in silence.

Gohan stopped when he reached a door labeled 'Auxiliary Laboratory 2-C'. He fumbled with the key and placed it in the lock, gently turning it.

Videl felt a pang of worry as she watched Gohan unlock the door.

_What? His hands are shaking! What's going on? What is he up to?_

Gohan walked rigidly into the pitch black room and beckoned for Videl to follow.

"I'll get the light," he said in a dull monotone.

Gohan disappeared into the darkness, leaving Videl in the doorway. She cast an elongated shadow from the light flooding in through the opening. A few tense, quiet seconds passed. Then, there was a click, a buzz, and a flickering of many lights as the fluorescent bulbs on the ceiling lit and came to life, slowly illuminating the room.

"You can come in now," Gohan said. He walked over to a stainless steel table in the center of the cavernous room.

Videl assumed that he intended for her to follow, so she took a few tenuous steps into the eerie lab. It felt creepy inside. The lab looked like an abandoned workshop. Chains, obviously once used for suspending vehicles in the air to allow people to work on their undersides, dangled ominously from the ceiling. Nameless apparatus and pieces of equipment were festooned on the walls and perched on top of empty metal cabinets backed into corners.

Almost immediately, she felt a chill run through her body. It was cold in there. She rubbed her exposed arms while she slowly walked over to where Gohan was standing. Her footsteps clicked on the floor, resonating and echoing in the silent room.

Gohan stood like a statue at the side of the work table, staring down at its shining, metallic surface. He seemed deep in concentration, and deeply troubled.

"Gohan?" Videl called for him, concern evident in her voice.

He turned his head and looked at her.

"Over here," he replied, nodding solemnly.

Videl approached the table and noticed an object sitting on it. It was a small box. It seemed oddly out of place to her.

_Is that a jewelry box? It looks like the sort of thing a ring or a bracelet comes in._

_Wait a second._

She was jarred from her thought as she noticed a flicker of movement beside her, and then stopped abruptly and turned to face it, on guard. She didn't feel like taking any chances in this creepy place.

She found she was staring herself in the face. The movement had been her. A full-length mirror sat a few feet off to the side of the table.

Videl put her guard down and turned to Gohan.

"What is all this?" she asked him.

Gohan scratched the back of his head shyly and looked down at his feet.

"Well, it's, uh, your birthday present. From me."

Videl felt her jaw slacken and her eyes widen as she stared at Gohan, who was blushing intensely.

"You mean that?" she said, pointing at the box on the metal table.

"Y-yes..." Gohan said, gently picking it up. Very slowly, he walked around the edges of the table and sat the box on the corner nearest Videl.

Videl stared at him, agape.

"If you wouldn't mind," Gohan said, "I'd like you to close your eyes."

"But... Why?"

"Please, Videl. Just do it."

"Well, okay."

Videl shut her eyes and waited anxiously for whatever was about to come. She heard Gohan open the box and pull something out of it. Then, he took her left wrist and held it up. He undid the band on her communicator watch and removed it, setting it down on the table with a metallic clink.

Then, she felt something very cool and smooth encircle her wrist. The coldness of untouched metal chilled her skin as Gohan adjusted the object.

"You can open your eyes now."

Videl opened her eyes and held her wrist up to the light.

_Another watch?_

"What is it?" she asked him.

Gohan looked at her with a nervous smile.

"Just press that green button, and you'll find out."

Videl reached over to her adorned hand and pressed the green button. Then, she felt a very strange change. There was something on her head, and she didn't feel cold anymore.

"W-what happened?" she blurted out. Gohan grinned at her.

"Look in the mirror," he told her, taking hold of her shoulders and turning her toward the looking-glass.

Videl's jaw dropped and her eyes shot open. She was in a costume of some sort. She was covered from head to foot in blue spandex, with white gloves and a sky blue tunic. There was a strange white belt with a gold circle in the center around her waist. A red cape was buttoned to her shoulders, and on her head was a white helmet with two antennae, a pink section with a gold heart in it, and a blue visor over her eyes. The whole getup looked oddly familiar.

"Do you like it?" Gohan asked her, leaning in over her shoulder.

"What is it supposed to be?" Videl asked, very confused.

"Don't you recognize the style?" Gohan asked her.

"Well, it looks kind of familiar, but..."

"Here, I'll jog your memory," Gohan said. He held up his watch and pressed a familiar button, and then the Great Saiyaman stood before her.

"Wait," she said, looking at him, and then to the mirror, and then back and forth between the two again. "I look like you! Am I-"

"The Great Saiyawoman!" Gohan declared in his heroic voice.

"Whoa..." Videl trailed off, looking at the mirror again.

"What do you think?"

"Well, it's a little... weird."

"Well, yeah, my costume is kind of weird, too."

"So, this is what you brought me here to see?" Videl asked, turning back around to look at Gohan.

"Yeah," Gohan said. "I was pretty nervous about it. I wasn't sure if you'd like it or not. In fact, I'm still pretty nervous."

"Why?"

"Well," Gohan began, letting out a deep sigh, "I wanted to get you something really special for your birthday. You know, since it's the first one that you've had since we've been together. The problem is, well, I'm pretty much broke, and you're the richest girl in the world. I had to put a ton of thought into this. I knew I couldn't get you anything expensive or flashy, so I knew it was going to have to be the thought that counted. I talked to Bulma about it and she helped me come up with this idea. I've been really nervous about it for a while because, well, it just seems so inferior to so many other things I could have-"

Videl cut him off mid-sentence, pressing her finger over his lips.

"Hush, you," she said, a smile on her face.

"Why?" Gohan mumbled from behind Videl's hand.

"Because that's nonsense. This is way better than any other gift I was going to get today."

"But it's so corny! Even I understand that!"

Videl looked around for a second, examining herself and searching for the right thing to say.

"Yeah, it is kind of weird," she admitted. "But you put effort into this. You actually cared. Aside from Erasa, with her balloons and handmade card this morning, I know you're the only person who would actually do something like this for me."

"Yeah, I did put a lot of work into it. I spent hours making that thing here in this shop with Bulma."

Videl flipped the visor up on her helmet and put her arms around Gohan.

"I think somebody's deserving of a little thank you," she said in a sultry tone. She connected her lips with his, and Gohan melted underneath her touch like hot metal.

In the coming months and years, Videl would always remember that afternoon fondly. That watch was the best present she had ever received or would ever receive. Sure, it was a bit strange, she would willingly admit, but it was Gohan's quirkiness that made her love him in the first place.

That gift was so much more than a watch. It was more than a silly superhero costume. It was the beginning of the best days of her life. From that afternoon forward, they were Satan City's protectors, together. And night after night, as they stood atop the highest buildings, watching over the world together, they knew that metallic maze beneath their feet, that concrete jungle, was forever theirs.


End file.
